In a few days the World Bank will sponsor a
unique conference in Shanghai, hosted by the government of China,
which brings developing countries together to share ideas on the
best ways to boost the global fight against poverty. It marks a new
way of doing business with affected countries driving the
development agenda and exchanging the frank facts about what works
in the fight against poverty, what doesn't and why. The aim is to
come up with some pragmatic strategies that will reenergize the
global effort to meet the Millennium Development
Goals.
"Beyond resources we need fresh approaches to development that can
take small successes in one country and scale them up to reach
numbers that make a difference in reducing poverty" said World Bank
President
James Wolfensohn. "We need ideas that can travel from province
to province, country to country, and around the globe. These ideas
exist, and in many cases have been turned into reality by the poor
themselves. But until now they have remained isolated, recognized
only by a handful of specialists and pockets of grateful
beneficiaries."
The conference is attracting leaders from key developing countries
including: Presidents Lula of Brazil, Mkapa of Tanzania, Museveni
of Uganda, and Prime Minister Zia of Bangladesh who are scheduled
to make opening statements. More than 80 government ministers,
along with one thousand development practitioners, public and
private sector executives, academics, and civil society
representatives are taking part.
At the conference, from May 25-27, they will pore over research
conducted over nine months including more than 100 case studies, 20
video conferences and a series of field visits to try and identify
the key factors that lead to poverty reduction.
The aim is to reenergize the global effort to meet the Millennium
Development Goals which the world's leaders agreed to at the United
Nations in September 2000. The first goal is to cut in half the
proportion of the world's population living in extreme poverty by
2015, defined as people living on less the US$1 per day. By the
same deadline, it is hoped dramatic progress can be made in the
fight on HIV/AIDS and providing universal primary education.
"Every year the worlds' nations spend almost 20 times more on
building military might than on helping their poorest people build
better lives. Today the need for global development resources is
more critical than ever in a world where growing imbalances between
rich and poor threaten political and economic stability," said
Wolfensohn.
As a sponsor of this conference, the World Bank is helping
developing countries share the vast knowledge they have about
fighting poverty and helping them share their knowledge with the
world.
"This is a conference on how to take successful programs and scale
them up; how to enable poor people to be the central force for
change and not an object of charity; and how to manage programs and
policies over time to achieve results that truly make a difference
in people's lives," said Wolfensohn.
Although more than 50 years of investment in development has helped
lift millions of people from poverty, disease, and fear, 2.8
billion people still subsist on less than US$2 a day. Of these, 1.2
billion earn less than US$1 a day. They are hungry and vulnerable
to climate changes, war, and sudden fluctuations in markets.
Some lessons are surfacing from the research: economic growth is
critical but it must reach everyone and the poor must be in charge
of finding solutions that meet their needs. People in developing
nations have tremendous knowledge that can be shared to turn
subsistence laborers into entrepreneurs.
"Achieving the millennium goals requires a new approach to
development. It is hoped the Shanghai conference will tap the
experience of the developing nations closest to the issues and put
their knowledge to work around the globe" Wolfensohn said.
For more information about the conference and pre-conference events
visit www.reducingpoverty.org.
- For live webcast of plenary sessions on May 26 and 27, go
to: www.reducingpoverty.org
- Conference content on May 26 and 27 carried via
AsiaSat 4 will be available to broadcasters across the Asia-Pacific
region and linked to other satellites including the Opening and
Closing Sessions; selected B-roll; opportunities for satellite
media interviews with World Bank President James Wolfensohn and
others; and Video Case Studies created in relation to the
conference.
- Schedule of satellite feeds and other
details, see Shanghai Media Portal http://www.worldbank.org/wbi/reducingpoverty/mediaHome.html
To learn more about the Global Learning Process and Conference,
visit: www.reducingpoverty.org
- Contacts:
Sunetra Puri 202 473 2049 spuri@worldbank.org
Carl Hanlon 202 473 8087 chanlon@worldbank.org
(China.org.cn May 21, 2004)